Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-03/tgmwc-03-23.08 Last-Modified: 1999/07/08 Now, let me state what Himmler conceived that this organisation was to be used for. I quote from his address to the officers of the S.S. Leib standarte "Adolf Hitler" on the " Day of Metz," our Document 19i8-PS, Exhibit USA 304. I quote from Page 12 of the original document, the middle of the page; from the translation Page 3, last paragraph. I will begin the translation with the third sentence of that paragraph: "The ultimate aim for these 11 years during which I have been the Reichsfuehrer S.S. has been invariably the same. To create an order of good blood which is able to serve Germany, which unfailingly and without sparing itself can be made use of because the greatest losses can do no harm to the vitality of this order, the vitality of these men, because they will always be replaced. To create an order which will spread the idea of Nordic blood so far that we will attract all Nordic blood in the world, take away the blood from our adversaries, absorb it so that never again, looking at it from the viewpoint of the grand policy, Nordic blood in great quantities and to an extent worth mentioning will fight against us. We must get it and the others cannot have it. We never gave up the ideas and the aim, conceived so many years ago. Everything we have done has taken us some distance further on the way. Everything we are going to do will lead us further on the way." Now, one further quotation from the same document, which shows very explicitly why there was the building up of this order of Nordic blood, appears on Page 3 of the translation, the same document from which I have just quoted, about the middle of the first paragraph. It appears on Page 11 of the original speech, about the middle of the page. That is the speech to the officers of the S.S. Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler." "Please understand we would not be able to hold the great Germanic Reich which is about to take shape. I am convinced that we can hold it, but we have to prepare for that. If once we have not enough sons, those who come after us will have to become cowards. A nation which [Page 142] has an average of four sons per family can venture a war; if two of them die, two transmit the name. The leadership of a nation having one or two sons per family will have to be faint-hearted in any decision, on account of their own experience because they will have to tell themselves: We cannot afford it. Look at France, which is the best example. France had to accept from us a dictate." . Domination of Europe through a Nazi elite required more, however, than a positive side of racialism. THE TRIBUNAL (MR. BIDDLE): Is that one of the crimes you allege, domination of Europe through an elite ? MAJOR FARR: One of the crimes alleged is a 'conspiracy to dominate Europe, preparation for aggressive war, leading to the ultimate colonisation of Europe for the benefit of the conspirators. One of the instruments, we submit, used for carrying out that policy, was the S.S. The conspirators began, at the very beginning, the creation of the S.S., to build it up so that it would be the elite through which Germany would be able to dominate and rule the conquered territories. We think that this conception of the S.S. has played a vital part in the conspiracy. It has bearing on the whole programme of the conspirators. Now, this certainly, in itself- THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but, Major Farr, what you have to show is not the criminality of the people who used the weapon; the criminality of the people who composed the weapon. MAJOR FARR: I think I have to show two things, certainly the criminality of the persons who composed the weapons, but it seems to me I must also show that that weapon played a part in the conspiracy because the Indictment alleges- THE PRESIDENT: I should have thought you had shown that over and over again, that the S.S. were a part of the weapon. If there was a criminal conspiracy, then the S.S. were one of the weapons which were used by the conspirators. But what you have got to show in this part of the case is that the persons who formed that weapon were criminal and knew of the criminal objects of the S.S. MAJOR FARR: I quite agree I have to show that. I suppose I have to show, before showing that the persons involved knew of the criminal aims of the Organisation, what those criminal aims were. I was simply attempting to show the Tribunal that one of those aims which I submit as criminal was a plan to dominate Europe, and that the S.S. was one of the means by which that was to be done. Now, this is just one aspect of the S.S. criminality. I am quite ready not to proceed any further with the point if the Court already has the point, and thinks that the evidence of that aspect of its criminality is sufficient. I certainly do not want to labour the point too hard. I will now proceed further with the point as to the building up of the S.S. as a racial elite to take over ; but I do think one other thing is important, and that is the negative side of that racialism: the hatred of other races. Himmler made some very striking points along that line as to what the S.S. was to be in relation to it. I quote from his Posen speech, that is, our document igig-PS. The passage in question appears on Page 23 of the original speech, middle of the page, and will be found on Page I of the English translation, third paragraph. [Page 143] quote: "One basic principle must be the absolute rule for the S.S. man. We must be honest, decent, loyal, and comradely to members of our own blood and to nobody else. What happens to a Russian, to a Czech, does not interest me in the slightest." The next few sentences from that same paragraph have already been read into evidence, and I shall not repeat them. But I do want to quote, in the same paragraph, the conclusion that Himmler draws from what he just said. This sentence is about seven lines from the bottom of the paragraph, beginning:- "That is what I want to instil into this S.S. and what I believe I have instilled in them as- one of the most sacred laws of the future." Now these principles-that is, the concepfion of being an elite which was to take over Europe, and the conception of hatred toward inferior races, which was instilled in the S.S.-these were principles which were publicly reiterated over and over again so that the newest recruit was thoroughly steeped in them. I quote from Himmler's Kharkov speech, which appears in the same document 1919-PS. THE TRIBUNAL (MR. BIDDLE): Can you not just give us the meaning of the speech without quoting from it; can you just refer to it ? I MAJ 0 R FARR: I will be very glad to do that, if the Court will take judicial notice of it. I will refer you to the passage I have in mind. The passage in question appears on Page 14 of the translation, about fiheen lines from the bottom of the page; it appears on Page 17 of the original, at about the middle of the page. In that passage, after having talked at great length about the racial struggle, Himmler tells his commanding officers -- and he is making this speech to the commanding officers of three divisions of the Waffen S.S.-he tells his officers that the thing which he wants so thoroughly instilled into every recruit in the Organisation, so that he becomes saturated with it, is the necessity of the S.S. standing firm and carrying on the racial struggle without mercy. On the same point one further quotation-if the Tribunal will bear with me-and I think this is important because this, again, is a public quotation, found in the Organisation Book of the Party. That is our document 2640-PS. It is a very short passage, appearing on Page V8 of the original, and Page i of the English translation, the third paragraph from the end of the page in the translation: "He openly and unrelentingly fights the most dangerous enemies of the State: Jews, Freemasons, Jesuits, and political clergymen." Now these were the fundamental principles of the S.S.: racial superiority and blind obedience. A necessary corollary of these two principles was ruthlessness. The evidence that we will introduce on these activities will show how successfully the S.S. learned the lesson it was taught. The S.S. had to, and did, develop a reputation for terror which was Farefully cultivated. Himmler himself publicly attested it as early as 1936 in his pamphlet, " The S.S. as an Anti-Bolshevist Fighting Organisation " our document 185I-PS, which has already been introduced into evidence as exhibit USA 44o. I quote two sentences which appear at page 29 Of the original pamphlet, and on page 4 of the translation, the first two sentences: "I know that there are some people in Germany who become sick [Page 144] when they see these black coats. We understand the reason for this and do not expect that we shall be loved by too many." The role which the S.S. was required to play demanded that it remain constantly the essence of Nazism and that its elite quality should never be diluted. As evidence that even in 1943 the S.S. standards were still being main tained, I offer in evidence a letter written to the defendant Kaltenbrunner by Himmler. This letter is our Document 2768-PS. It is a letter from the Reiclisfuehrer S.S., written at his field command post and bearing the date 24th April, 1943, 1 offer it as Exhibit USA 447. 1 quote from the first paragraph of that letter: "Referring again to the matter which we discussed some time agothat is, the admission of Sipo officials into the S.S.-I wish to clarify again: I want an admission only if the following conditions are fulfilled: I. If the man applies freely and voluntarily. 2. If, by applying strict and peace-time standards, the applicant fits racially and ideologically into the S.S., guarantees according to the number of his children a really healthy S.S. stock, and is neither in, degenerate, nor worthless." Then, continuing with the third paragraph: "I beg not only that you will act accordingly in the future, but especially also that numerous admissions into the ranks of the S.S. in the past be re-examined and revised according to these instructions." Now I have appended this, to indicate to the Tribunal the normal manner in which a man became a member of the S.S. This is discussed by Himmler in our Document 1992-A-PS, at Page 142 of the original, and Page 5 Of the translation. If the Court thinks that it can take judicial notice of that passage, I shall not trouble to read it. What it does is to describe how a young man comes into the S.S. normally, at the age of 18, serves an appren ticeship and receives his instructions in S.S. ideology, takes the S.S. oath, receives the S.S dagger, and how long he remains in the General S.S. I will not trouble to read that paragraph, since I assume that the Court will take judicial notice of it. I do think it may be worth quoting the very brief oath which the S.S. man takes. That oath is quoted in the Waffen S.S. recruiting pamphlet, entitled, "The S.S. Calls You," our Document 3429-PS, which I offer in evidence as Exhibit USA 446. The oath appears on Page 18 of that pamphlet, and on Page 2 of the translation, in the middle of the page. I quote the oath The Oath of the S.S. Man: swear to you, Adolf Hitler, as Fuehrer and Reichschancellor, loyalty and bravery, I vow to you, and to those you have named to command me, obedience unto death, so help me God." I turn now to a consideration of the activities of the S.S., the manner in which it carried out the purposes of the conspirators and performed its function of guarding the internal security of the Nazi regime. The proof of the elite Nazi quality and thorough reliability of the S.S.-the test by which it won its spurs--occurred on the 3oth of June, 1934, when it partici pated in the purge of the S.A. and other opponents or potential opponents of the Nazi regime. That was the first real occasion for the use of this [Page 145] specialised Organisation, which could operate with the blessing of the Nazi State, but outside the law. I offer in evidence an affidavit by the defendant Wilhelm Frick, signed and sworn to herein Nuremberg on the i 9th of November, 1945 - It is our Document 2950-PS- I offer it as Exhibit USA 448. 1 shall quote a portion of that affidavit, beginning about the middle of the first paragraph of the affidavit, the tenth line in the original. "Many people were killed -- I do not know how many -- who actually did not have anything to do with the `putsch.' People who just were not liked very well, as for instance, Schleicher, the former Reich Chancellor, were killed. Schleicher's wife was also killed, as was Gregor Strasser, who had been the Reich Organisation Leader and second man in the Party after Hitler. Strasser, at the time he was murdered, was not active in political affairs any more. However, he had separated himself from the Fuehrer in November or December of 1932. The S.S. was used by Himmler for the execution of these orders to suppress the 'putsch'." It was in recognition of its services in this respect that the S.S. was raised to the status of a component of the Party equal in rank to the S.A., and other similar ranking. I ask the Court to take judicial notice of a passage which appears on Page i of the V614scher Beobachter of z6th July, 1934- It is our Document 1857-PS, Exhibit USA 412. 1 shall read the translation of that passage, which is very brief: "The Reich Press Office announces the following Order of the Fuehrer. In consideration of the greatly meritorious service of the S.S., especially in connection with the events Of 3oth June, 1934, 1 raise it to the standing of an independent Organisation within the N.S.D.A.P. The Reiclisfuehrer S.S., like the Chief of Staff, is, therefore, directly subordinate to the highest S.A. leader." By its action on 30th June, the S.S. proved itself. It was, therefore, the type of Organisation which the conspirators wanted for the first necessary step in their programme, the acquisition of control over the police, because one of the first steps essential to the security of any regime is control of the police. The aim of the conspirators was to fuse the S.S. and the police, to merge them into a single, unified repressive force. I turn now to the consideration of the development whereby the S.S. and the police became intermingled. Shortly after the seizure of power the conspirators began to develop, as a part of the State machinery, secret political police forces, originating in Prussia in the Gestapo established by decree of the defendant Goering in 1933, and this development will be dealt with in the case against the'Gestapo. By 1934, the Reichsfuehrer S.S. had become the chief of these secret political police forces in all the States of Germany except Prussia, and deputy chief of the Prussian Gestapo. In that capacity he infiltrated these forces with members of the S.S. until a virtual identity of membership of the S.S. and the Gestapo was achieved. On 17th June, 1936, by the Decree on the Establishment of a Chief of the German Police, published in the Reichsgesetzblatt for 1936, Part 1, Pages 487 and 488, our Document 2073-PS, of which I assume the Court will take judicial notice, the new post of Chief of the German Police was created in the Ministry of the Interior. Under the terms of the decree [Page 146] Himmler was appointed to this post with the title of "Reiclisfuehrer S. S., and Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior." The combination of these two positions, that of leader of the S.S., and head of all the police forces in the Reich, was no accident, but was intended to establish a permanent relation between the two bodies, and not a mere 44 transitory fusion of personnel." The significance of this combination of these two positions was referred to by Hitler in his secret order of 17th August, 1938, on the organisation and mobilisation of the S.S., our Document 647-PS, which I introduce in evidence as Exhibit USA 443, from which I will now quote just the preamble, which will be found on the first page of our Document 647-PS, and at the beginning of the original order. I quote: "By means of the nomination of the Reichsfuehrer S.S. and Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior on June 17th, 1936, (Reichsgesetzblatt I, Page 487), 1 have created the basis for the unification and reorganisation of the German Police. With this step, the Schutzstaffeln of the N.S.D.A.P., which have been under the Reichs fuehrer S.S. and Chief of the German Police up to now, have entered into close connection with the duties of the German Police." Upon his appointment, Himmler immediately proceeded to reorganise the entire police force, designating two separate branches. (i) The regular uniformed police force (Ordnungspolizei or Orpo as they were called by their abbreviated title) ; and (2) the so-called Security Police, or as they became to be known by their abbreviated title Sipo. The Security Police was composed of all the Criminal Police in the Reich and all the Gestapo. This reorganisation was achieved by the decree assigning functions to the Office of the Chief of the German Police, published in the Reichsministerialblatt for 1936, Pages 946-948, our Document 155I-PS- Of that decree I assume the Court will take judicial notice. To be head of the Sipo, that is, of the Criminal Police and the Gestapo, Himmler appointed Reinhard Heydrich, who was at that time the Chief of the S.D., the S.S. Intelligence Agency to which I have already referred. Thus, through Himmler's dual capacity as Reichsfuehrer S.S. and as Chief of the German Police, and through Heydrich's dual capacity as head of the S.D. and of the Security Police, a unified personal command of the S.S. and Security Police Forces was achieved. . But further steps towards unification were taken. In 1939 the Security Police and the S.D., which up to that time had been only an agency of the S.S., were both combined in a single department: the Reich Security Main Office, commonly referred to as R.S.H.A. An important point to be observed is this: This newly created department, R.S.H.A., was not a mere department of the Government. It was a dual thing. It was simultaneously an agency of the Government, organisationally placed in the Ministry of the Interior, and, at the same time, one of the principal departments of the S.S., organisationally placed in the Supreme Command of the S.S. This division in the S.S. is shown by the chart before you, R.S.H.A. being indicated by the sixth block from the left of the chart. But it was not merely the Gestapo and Criminal Police which came under the sway of the S.S. The regular uniformed police as well were affected. Like the R.S.H.A., the department of the Regular Police, the Ordnungspolizei, was also not merely a department in the Ministry of the Interior, but also simultaneously in the Supreme [Page 147] Command of the S.S. Its position in the S.S. is indicated by the seventh block on the chart, on the left.
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